Article 17 Officers taken prisoners shall receive the same rate of pay as officers of corresponding rank in the country where they are detained; the amount shall be refunded by their own Government. Article 18 Prisoners of war shall enjoy complete liberty in the exercise of their religion, including attendance at the services of their own Church, on the sole condition that they comply with the police regulations issued by the military authorities. Article 19 The wills of prisoners of war are received or drawn up in the same way as for soldiers of the national army. The same rules shall be followed as regards documents concerning the certification of the death and also as to the burials of prisoners of war, due regards being paid to their grade and rank. Article 20 After the conclusion of peace, the repatriation of prisoners of war shall be carried out as quickly as possible. Chapter III- The Sick and Wounded Article 21 The obligations of belligerents with regard to the sick and wounded are governed by the Geneva Convention. SECTION II-OF HOSTILITIES Chapter I - Means of Injuring the Enemy, Sieges, and Article 22 Belligerents do not possess an unlimited right as to the choice of means of injuring the enemy. Article 23 In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is particularly forbidden: (a) To employ poison or poisoned weapons; (b) To kill or wound by treachery individuals belonging to the hostile nation or army; (c) To kill or wound an enemy who, having laid down his arms, or no longer having means of defence, has surrendered at discretion; (d) To declare that no quarter will be given; (e) To employ arms, projectiles, or material calculated to cause unnecessary suffering; (f) To make improper use of a flag of truce, of the national flag or of the military insignia and uniform of the enemy, as well as of the distinctive signs of the Geneva Convention; (g) To destroy or seize enemy property, unless such destruction or seizure be imperatively demanded by the necessities of war; (h) To declare abolished, suspended, or inadmissible the right of the subjects of the hostile party to instituted legal proceedings. A belligerent is likewise forbidden to compel the subjects of the hostile party to take part in the operations of war directed against their own country, even if they were in the service of the belligerent before the commencement of the war. Article 24 Ruses of war and the employment of measures necessary for obtaining information about the enemy and the country are considered permissible. Article 25 The attack or bombardment, by any means whatever, of undefended towns, villages, dwellings, or buildings is forbidden. Article 26 The officer in command of an attacking force must do all in his power to warn the authorities before commencing a bombardment, except in cases of assault. Article 27 In sieges and bombardments all necessary steps must be taken to spare, as far as possible, buildings dedicated to public worship, art, science, or charitable purposes, historic monuments, hospitals, and places where the sick and wounded are collected, provided they are not being used at the time for military purposes. It is the duty of the besieged to indicate such buildings or places by distinctive and visible signs, which shall be notified to the enemy beforehand. Article 28 The giving over to pillage of a town or place, even when taken by assault, is forbidden. Chapter II-Spies Article 29 A person can only be considered a spy when, acting clandestinely or on false pretences, he obtains or endeavours to obtain information in the zone of operations of a belligerent, with the intention of communicating it to the hostile party. Accordingly, soldiers not wearing a disguise who have penetrated into the zone of operations of the hostile army, for the purpose of obtaining information, are not considered spies. Similarly, the following are not considered spies: Soldiers and civilians entrusted with the delivery of despatches intended either for their own army or for the enemy's army, and carrying out their mission openly. To this class likewise belong persons sent in balloons for the purpose of carrying despatches and, generally, of maintaining communications between the different parts of an army or a territory. Article 30 A spy taken in the act shall not be punished without previous trial. Article 31 A spy who, after rejoining the army to which he belongs, is subsequently captured by the enemy, is treated as a prisoner of war, and incurs no responsibility for his previous acts as a spy. Chapter III- Flags of Truce Article 32 A person is regarded as bearing a flag of truce who has been authorized by one of the belligerents to enter into communication with the other, and who presents himself under a white flag. He is entitled to inviolability, as also the trumpeter, bugler, or drummer, the flag-bearer and the interpreter who might accompany him. Article 83 The commander to whom a flag of truce is sent is not obliged in every case to receive it. He may take all steps necessary in order to prevent the envoy from taking advantage of his mission to obtain information. In case of abuse, he has the right temporarily to detain the envoy. Article 34 The envoy loses his rights of inviolability if it is proved in a positive and incontestable manner that he has taken advantage of his privileged position to provoke or commit an act of treachery. Chapter IV - Capitulations Article 35 Capitulations agreed upon between the contracting parties must take into account the rules of military honour. Once settled, they must be scrupulously observed by both parties. Chapter V-Armistices Article 36 An armistice suspends military operations by mutual agreement between the belligerent parties. If its duration is not defined, the belligerent parties may resume operations at any time, provided always that the enemy is warned within the time agreed upon, in accordance with the terms of the armistice. Article 37 An armistice may be general or local. The first suspends the entire military operations of the belligerent States; the second between certain portions of the belligerent armies only and within a fixed zone. Article 38 An armistice must be notified officially and in good time to the competent authorities and to the troops. Hostilities are suspended immediately after the notification, or at the time fixed. Article 39 It rests with the contracting parties to settle, in the terms of the armistice, the relations which may be allowed in the theatre of war with, and between, the civil populations. Article 40 Any serious violation of the armistice by one of the parties gives the other party the right of denouncing it, and even, in cases of urgency, of recommencing hostilities immediately. Article 41 A violation of the terms of the armistice by individuals acting on their own initiative only entitles the injured party to demand the punishment of the offenders and, if there is occasion for it, compensation for the losses sustained. |